Who is Thomas...Who is Andrew...And what's the deal with all these fish?
Thomas and Andrew were two fisherman, who some 2000 years ago were disciples of Jesus.
They were just two of the twelve apostles, but they happen to be our favorites.
Thomas
Andrew
Fish
We always think of Thomas as a doubter. Frankly, he gets an unfair rap. Maybe he was
a pessimist. But if he really doubted Jesus - why would he continue to follow Jesus
after his own life was threatened. He even offered to die with Jesus when Jesus was preparing to go see Lazareth. You see, Thomas did not want to be separated from
Jesus. He was willing to die with Jesus, but he did not want Jesus to leave without him.
This is what Thomas was feeling after Jesus was crucified. His worst fears had come true:
Jesus died and he didn't die with Him. Then Jesus left and he was afraid he would not see
Him again. But, he got his act together. He preached as far as India, where he built a
church with his own hands, and ended up dying for a Jesus he refused to deny. The symbol
for Thomas is a carpenter square and spear because of his trade and the fact that he
died by a spear.
Andrew was a fisherman and the brother of Simon Peter, the leader of the twelve. With
one or two exceptions he is always referenced in the Bible as Simon Peter's Brother. But,
ever humble, he never let it bother him to play second fiddle. It is easy to characterize
Andrew, he was always bringing people to Jesus. When he found Jesus during the baptism with
John the Baptist, Andrew immediately went and told his brother. Then he took him to Jesus.
When Jesus was feeding the 5,000 men it was Andrew who found a little boy and brought him
to Jesus. Phillip, another disciple, did not know what to do when some Greeks came to
ask about Jesus. But Andrew did. He took them to see Jesus. The symbol for Andrew is an
'X', becasue is was crucified on an 'X' shaped cross.
Andrew was a fisherman by trade. And although Thomas' profession was a carpenter, he was
also a fisherman. For over three years Jesus trained the twelve and turned them all into
fishers of men.
Matthew 4:19 - "Come follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
